Trip To Italy, The Planning Continues

Thought I would let you see my process for planning my recent spring trip to Italy by reading entries in my journal:

Monday, March 28

After I returned from playing tennis I picked up a message from my friend who is to share in my Italian Adventure. I could tell by the tone of her voice on the message that this was not going to be good news. Nothing good ever comes from a message that starts with “call me no matter what time you get this message.” Alas she has a hairline fracture on the top of her foot and cannot walk.

There are times when not walking is not much of a problem, but not being to walk around Italy is a big problem. You have to be able to hop on and off trains not to mention walk wherever it is you want to go. It is not like you can hail a taxi to take you on a tour of Florence or Verona. One of the great joys of visiting Italy is that you can walk everywhere. And, partaking in the “passeggiata” after dinner in Verona is one of the main reasons for visiting.

What is the passeggiata? It is the art of the evening stroll and no one does it better than Italians. It is a leisurely walk generally through the historic center of towns and cities. You stop and window shop, maybe have a gelato, but the key is to relax and enjoy the evening with a friend or friends.

Anyway back to my trip. After spending a solid two days moping, pouting and complaining to anyone who would listen I started thinking of alternatives. We could go in September, but I am in between jobs now and hopefully will be employed in September. Even the best employers are not going to hire me and then give me two weeks off. Plus, I really was set on a spring trip.

We explored cancelling our plane reservations. We had both taken out trip insurance, but had not booked any hotels yet so cancelling would be fairly easy. The more time that passed I realized that I was not making a move to cancel my flight and the longer it went the more I thought hmmmmmmm why not go by myself? Italy is a foreign country but not one that is unfamiliar to me, and in an emergency it is someplace where enough people speak English that I could get help if I need to.

And so I spoke with family and friends and most said “Go” just go and don’t worry about it. And so I decided to go anyway and try a solo trip. It will be interesting to see if I like this form of travel. It will be more expensive so I will have to do more planning and come up with a new itinerary.